


the resplendent puzzle

by scriptuurient



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Found Family, Other, They dance, angus asks some questions, but otherwise it's all good, it's a lil bit sad, they bake a cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2018-12-03 06:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11526255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scriptuurient/pseuds/scriptuurient
Summary: (This is after Lup gets her body back, however that may be. And it might be a lil bit ooc, I apologize!)Angus likes to know things, and Lup is a mystery. This is a series of stories about him figuring her out.





	1. angus bakes a cake

Angus McDonald prides himself on being the greatest boy detective, so when he finally gets a chance to hang out with the mysterious and awesome Lup he’s ecstatic. He wants to know  _ everything _ there is to know about her. He especially wants to know why sometimes she isolates herself from everyone, lingering on the edge of the group with a pained expression. Something’s up, and Angus is determined to find out.

She comes up to him one day while he’s reading, using the tip of her fixed umbrastaff to push the book down from his face. Angus blinks slowly up at her, and it takes a second for him to realize it’s not Taako. Typically it’s Taako that interrupts him while he’s reading, picking the most inopportune times for magic lessons. No, this time it’s Lup, mouth curved up in a mischievous but pleasant smile.

“Hey, little guy, you busy?”

“I guess not anymore, ma’am.” Angus sets down the book, adjusting his glasses as he gets up from his perch on the window seat. Lup swings the umbrastaff up and over one shoulder, her long black skirt swishing around her long legs as she began to walk. Angus, though tall for his age, still had to jog to catch up to her quick strides. Lup was a woman who, though always seemingly bored and aimless, walked with a sense of purpose that Angus found interesting.

The two of them make their way to a kitchen, and Angus honestly didn’t even know this kitchen was here, and that thought alone makes his head hurt. It’s like Lup just created this place out of thin air, because the greatest boy detective is  _ pretty sure _ that hallway should have lead to a training room, and not to this magnificent kitchen.

“What are we doing, ma--”

“Lemme catch you there, Ango.” Lup hooks the end of the umbrastaff onto a chair, moving to where several aprons are hanging from a hook on the wall. “You don’t have to keep callin’ me ‘ma’am’. Lup’s fine.”

“Lup.” Angus says her name slowly, following her lead and looping the neck of an apron around his neck. It’s a rather big apron, drooping too low to the ground, and it’s designed to look like he’s got really big muscles. Lup’s big laugh fills the kitchen as she takes the apron from him and hands him a much smaller one. 

“Sorry. I got that apron for Magnus. Man, he looked hilarious in it!” Her laughter slows and stops after a moment, right ear flicking as she turns to the large island in the center of the kitchen. “Okay, so you’re probably wondering what’s up, yeah?”

Angus nods, tying the apron at his waist. Lup begins to pull her thick hair up into a bun, eyes roaming across the kitchen. 

“I’m going to make a cake for Taako. I haven’t done it in awhile, and I thought what better time than his birthday, right?” She laughs again and moves to a massive shelf. Angus watches her with a steady gaze, fidgeting with the strings of the apron.

“Wouldn’t that make it your birthday, too?”

Lup stops moving for a second, arm stretched above her head. She doesn’t look at Angus, instead chuckling under hear breath as she pulls down a canister of flour that lets out a soft plume of white when she sets it down. “Right.”

“Why did you want my help? I mean, I’m very thankful for the practice, but shouldn’t you… get your brother to help you?”

Lup doesn’t answer, instead groaning as she sets a massive bowl down on the counter. “Get over here, you little goof. We gotta get started now before he gets back.”

And so the two of them set about making a cake, and before Angus knows it he’s laughing at all of Lup’s offhand jokes as they create quite the mess. At one point Angus gets flour all over his glasses and Lup is quick to reach over and clean them off, giving him a quick wink and a smile before she gets back to work. Their cake creation is massive, each tier a different flavor. Lup makes the icing quickly and efficiently, handing Angus a small spatula-like instrument to spread the icing over the cake.

While they’re working, Angus decides to ask. “Lup… Is it okay if I ask you something?” She nods, eyes focused on the job at hand, and Angus swallows before continuing. “You… You always separate yourself from everyone. No matter the occasion, sometimes you slip away and don't return. I-- please don’t be upset, but-- sometimes I’ll see you wandering the halls in the middle of the night. Why is that?”

Lup freezes, eyes slowly moving from the cake as she looks up at Angus. Her expression is a mix of fear and sadness before she offers him a small smile. “You’re awfully clever, aren’t you?”

“It is one of my best traits.”

They both laugh, a little weakly, before Lup sets down her spatula. “Listen, kid… it’s not something ya need to bother yourself with. I’m just adjusting.”

“From being trapped in the umbrastaff, right?”

“Yeah.” Lup looks like she doesn’t want to respond at first, but then she sighs. “Okay, uh… Look, I don’t  _ mean _ to do it. I just-- Angus, spending a decade alone, it eats away at you. There are days where it was hard to-- to  _ feel _ anything, I guess. And I am happy to be back, and around people, but my mind grew so adjusted to being alone that sometimes--”

“You don’t know how to not be alone.”

“Correct.” Lup snorts, swiping one finger along the edge of her icing bowl. “It’s easy with strangers, but it’s hard when it comes to my… family. Especially Taako and Barry. Because I both want and don’t want to be around them. I don’t really understand it.”

Angus fixes his glasses on his nose before putting a hand on top of one of Lup’s. She stops and looks down at his fingers, expression tight with an ancient sadness. Angus can’t even begin to comprehend what her and the other six went through, but he does at least know what it’s like to be alone. Maybe not at such a vast level, but…

“Thank you, Lup,” he says quietly. “For this cooking lesson.”

Lup’s eyes look glassy, but Angus isn’t really sure if he imagined it when she suddenly laughs and leans forward, pulling him into a tight hug. “No problem, little dude. Now, let’s finish this cake. Gotta have it ready for-- for  _ our _ birthday.”

Angus still doesn’t completely understand Lup, but maybe that’s okay: she’s the sort of woman who was born to be a mystery, and there’s nothing Angus loves more than a good mystery.


	2. angus learns to dance

It’s a chilly Wednesday when Angus McDonald finds himself wandering through an unknown part of Lucretia’s massive house. Everyone’s come to visit for the week, and Angus is  _ bored _ . She has a massive library but he’s read most of those books on previous visits and besides, it’s currently under construction as she is having an observatory built. 

The halls are long and lit by comfy amber lights, making Angus feel pleasantly drowsy. He nudges up his glasses with one hand and wipes his eyes, adjusting them on his nose as he turns one corner and walks into an unknown room. It’s much brighter than the hall, the long windows thrown open to let in the sunlight. Outside of the windows Angus can see rolling green hills and an endless blue sky full of puffy white clouds.

It’s then that the sound of music hits him, and he takes a look around the room. It appears to be a sort of living room, but all of the furniture has been shoved up against the walls, the carpets rolled up and stacked against long couches. A record player is set up in one corner of the room, playing what sounds like an eloquent duet between a piano and a violin. 

And then, he sees Barry and Lup. They’re dancing, clumsily, Lup’s smile bright as starlight as she laughs at some joke Barry just whispered. The shorter man is in his signature denim jeans, wearing a rather nice maroon shirt partially tucked in. Lup is in a coral dress that would look absurd on anyone but her, bare feet moving effortlessly against the glossy wood floor. Barry is slower to dance, always glancing down at his feet and tripping as Lup attempts to lead him.

Lup glances up just as the song ends, and her smile widens when she sees Angus. “It’s the detective boy!”

Feeling himself begin to blush at her attention, at  _ any _ attention, Angus lifts one nervous hand in a wave before walking in their direction. “I didn’t mean to intrude, I just-- I had nothing to do so I was wandering around, and I, uh, came… here.”

Barry rubs a hand through his hair, chuckling. “Don’t worry, buddy, you’re welcome here.”

“Yeah man!” Lup sweeps Angus up into a big hug that has him giggling. “You gonna watch me try to teach that big goofus how to dance?”

When she sets Angus down he responds with a big nod, fixing his glasses as he moves to sit on one of the couches. Lup glides-- yes,  _ glides _ , like she’s some sort of living waterfall-- over to the record player, adjusting the stylus so that the song starts over again. The she extends a hand and Barry moves forward to take it, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles before she grins and pulls him into the standard stance of a waltz.

Angus has seen people dance before, at Candlenights parties and a handful of Festivals in Neverwinter, but there’s something about Lup dancing that is entirely  _ other _ . She murmurs instructions to Barry, keeping his eyes on hers as they spin in elegant circles across the floor of the living room. Angus swings his feet in step with the rhythm of the music, feeling himself swaying to the song. And it is a beautiful song, swelling with love and hope and hesitance in every note. Angus, having listened to most of the records Lucretia owns, has never heard this one, which gives him pause.

Eventually Barry stumbles away from Lup with a loud laugh. “Okay, okay, I’m out. If I don’t get to the nearest bed soon I might die.”

“Not even Death will keep me from teaching you to dance, babe.” Lup waves him away, offering up her cheek for a quick kiss. On the way out Barry passes Angus, who stands and steps in front of him. 

“What’s that song from?”

Barry’s face seems to melt, becoming so soft and vulnerable, and then he looks at Lup and Angus sees so much adoration in his eyes that for a moment he feels intrusive. “Why don’t you ask Lup?”

He ruffles Angus’ hair on his way out, leaving Angus to stare at Lup. She’s standing in the center of the living room by herself, face turned to the ceiling and eyes closed as she just stands there and listens to the song. He steps toward her slowly-- at least, he tries to, but then his foot catches on one his shoelaces that has come undone, and his shoes squeak uncomfortably against the floor. Lup spins toward him, a brief flash of anger flickering in her eyes before she realizes it’s just Angus. Then she smiles.

“You up for a quick dance, kid?”

“Well, I-- I don’t know how to dance ma’am. Lup.” He coughs nervously, and it turns into a small chuckle. “If it’s not a bother, though, I’d, um, like to learn.”

“I’m sure I’m up for the challenge. C’mere.”

Angus hurries toward her as she starts the song over again. Lup is much,  _ much _ taller than him, but that doesn’t deter her as she gestures for him to put one arm around her waist, putting a hand on his shoulder as she takes the other in an easy grip.

Lup, Angus has learned, is a patient teacher, teasing him kindly when he fumbles and then calmly explaining how he can fix it. And Angus, he knows, is a very quick learner. It only takes two repetitions of the song before he knows all of the steps perfectly, and he is waltzing around the living room floor with his aunt.

She takes her hand from his shoulder and spins him out, and Angus twirls underneath her arm with a delighted laugh. She’s smiling as well, the slowly fading sunlight illuminating her like there’s a fire hiding just underneath her skin. Angus wholeheartedly believes that that is true, and he even catches a glimpse of it in her eyes moments before she sweeps him up in her arms, spinning in clumsy circles until they’re both dizzy and breathless with laughter.

Lup drops him and they both collapse beside each other, heads close together and chests rising in gasping breaths.

“What  _ is _ that song?” Angus asks, face alight with excitement as he turns to look at Lup, only to feel his expression morph into one of concern when Lup begins to cry. It’s silent at first, tears slipping down her temples and lips parted around a soundless noise. But then she sits up and begins  _ truly _ sobbing, head cupped in her hands and shoulders shuddering with each quick intake. 

Angus panics, sitting up beside her with hands outstretched but not quite touching her. He once saw Taako crying and learned that sometimes touching someone doesn’t help. So instead he shuffles around to sit in front of her, one hand still held out in her direction.

“Lup…”

She laughs through a sob, rubbing hastily at her eyes. “I-I don’t-- I don’t even know why I’m  _ crying _ , I… Fuck, little dude, I’m-- I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” Gently, and with a shaking hand, Angus reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

It takes her a moment to answer. “Nothing’s  _ wrong _ , promise. That, uh, that song… I’m sure you know it, you just can’t recall. Remember when the voidfish projected our hundred year journey to everyone?”

The piece clicks into place in his mind and he blinks. “The… The Legato Conservatory. Right?”

She nods. “We wrote that song together. It was weird, I… wasn’t used to feeling that way about someone. But Barry, he’s… everything.” Her smile is a weird mix of sad and happy. “I don’t know what it is about him-- No, that’s not right, I know  _ exactly  _ what it is.” Wiping her eyes, Lup looks over to the record player. “It's his heart. Boy has he got the biggest heart. And his dumb rambling and his obnoxious laugh and his… slightly weird obsession with denim.”

“It’s statistically likely that everyone’s got a soulmate.”

She snorts. “Yeah, I’d like to believe that.”

“Then… why were you crying?”

Pushing her hair out of her face, Lup turned toward the sunlit windows. “While I was in the umbrella, I truly believed for… for a long time that I was never going to get out. I thought, y’know, that I would be alone for eternity, without my friends… without Taako or-- or Barry. And it fuckin’  _ sucked _ , Ango. I mean, I’m not one for being a downer, but… All I could think of was that I just wanted one more chance to play that song with my love.”

“And so you did.”

“Yup, and recorded it this time. You’d think I’d get tired of it but I don’t think I ever will. Is that weird?”

Angus shakes his head, grinning. “I occasionally read the Caleb Cleveland books over and over again. I never get bored of his story.”

“Right, yeah, forgot you were into that whole kid cop schtick of his.” Lup  sniffles one more time before pushing herself to her feet, hauling him up with her. “Sorry I got sad there for a minute, little dude.”

“It’s no problem, ma’am. Lup.”

“You really need to fix that.” She shoved him playfully before walking over to the record player and removing the vinyl disc, sliding it into a thin black envelopes with the red symbol of a rose on it. “Hey, think you’re up for helping me move all of this furniture? Lucretia’ll kill me if I leave it a mess.”

“Of course.” Angus beams gladly and tugs his wand out of his back pocket, waving it quickly through the air until a giant blue hand hovers above him. Lup does the same, producing a faint red hand that easily hoists up the grandfather clock and moves it to it’s position between to windows. IT chimes once out of irritation and Angus giggles.

They work quickly, fixing the living room until it looks just as comfy and crowded with books as it had been before. Lup waves a hand through the air and all of the curtains fall shut, the only light coming from the chandelier above.

In harmony they both plop down on the couch, and Lup grins at him. 

“Thank you for the dancing lesson, Lup,” Angus says softly, smiling back at her. Lup shrugs one shoulder, rolling her head against the back of the couch to look at the ceiling.

“It’s nice to pass on my wise knowledge to a cool pupil like you.”

Angus, though he knows the  _ story _ of the Stolen Century, still doesn’t know the entire story of Lup. Still, he’d like to think he’s a lot closer to finishing the puzzle than he ever was before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this universe everyone's got a soulmate and you can pry that idea from my cold dead hands. anyway, hope this is good enough! I'm a sucker for found family, especially cute relationships with mysterious aunts, so. Enjoy!!


	3. angus opens a door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is me, at 2am, thinking about Lup punching Sazed and being unable to do anything else. This is also based on a story my a tumblr mutual whose ao3 name i don't remember, but i took some liberties with the original story. sorry, love!  
> (this is also very short because it's late and I actually have to go to a church tomorrow-- today?)

He hears them arrive before he sees them: the loud slam of Taako’s front door, Barry’s calming murmur and the indecipherable shout of Lup’s naturally big voice. Angus hears heavy footsteps and a slammed door before Taako slowly walks into the living room, bored expression a little miffed. He’s holding two bowls of a steaming soup, one of which he hands to Angus.

“Well she sure is a hothead.” Without hesitation he lets out a loud laugh that has even Angus smiling. Taako moves to sit beside Angus on the couch, and they watch Jess the Beheader on the fantasy television for several minutes before Angus stares intently at his adopted uncle.

“Sir, what… Why was she so angry?”

Taako blinks, expression tightening into a look of concern before melting back into smug nothingness as he shrugs. “Hell if I know. She lets her emotions get the best of her, my dude.”

Barry walks into the room them, glasses askew and eyebrows drawn together. Taako glances up and Angus doesn’t miss the minute shake of Barry’s head as he sits down. The living room is filled with the sound of a crowd roaring, Taako occasionally throwing in a snide remark that has Barry chuckling, but Angus is too busy thinking.

He’s known Lup for a long while now, and he’s only ever heard her yell when playing games or when she doesn’t get a recipe right. And it’s obvious by the reactions of Taako and Barry-- her brother and boyfriend-- that her anger tonight doesn’t stem from either of those things.

Angus stands quickly, handing his bowl of soup to Barry and stepping toward the door. Taako, smart as he is, immediately sits forward. “Ango, dear, don’t be an idiot.”

Angus turns to look at Taako, raising his chin defiantly. “If there’s one thing I’m not, sir, it’s an idiot.”

Barry looks at the wizard beside him as if to say ‘he’s right, y’know’, and Taako responds with an odd twist of his mouth. “Great minds think alike, kid. And, uh…” He looks down at his soup for a second. “Tell her thanks. But like, indirectly, y’know, I don’t want her to get any wild ideas about fu--”

Barry elbows him and Angus darts away before they can start bickering. He makes quick work of jogging up the stairs, although he does almost trip on the top step (thankfully no one was around to see him). Lup’s bedroom door-- painted with an abstract portrait of Lup’s lich form-- is shut, and Angus hesitates before knocking.

“Go AWAY, Barry! I love you but god, not right now!” Lup yells from the other side, voice rough with emotion, and it’s loud enough to make Angus jump before he meekly responds.

“It-- It’s me, Lup… I was wondering if I could, uh, keep you company?”

There’s no response, and he’s very certain she’s ignoring him, but then he hears the click of the door unlocking and Lup nods her head once for him to come into her room. She’s still wearing her outfit from tonight’s date, though she looks somehow rougher than when she had left. It’s then that his eyes immediately latch onto her bloody hand, her knuckles scraped raw. Lup draws her hand against her chest, forcing out a laugh, but no quippy response follows and soon the room falls into an almost awkward silence as Angus stares.

Finally Lup turns away, walking briskly toward her vanity table and plopping down on the small bench. “I found Sazed tonight.”

Angus immediately feels his heartbeat quicken a pace or two. He knows who Sazed is, because sometimes Taako will awake from nightmares in the middle of the night, that notorious name still fresh on his lips. And he knows what Sazed did, how he destroyed whatever false purpose Taako had had at that point in his life.

“Where?"

Lup looks down at her hand. “Barry and I were at this really baller restaurant and he was just… there. Like he had no care for what he had done. Like… Like ruining someone’s life was just an everyday thing for him.” She tries to stretch out her fingers and immediately winces at what Angus is sure is a painful experience. Her mouth pulls up into a fearsome smirk. “I might’ve gotten a little carried away, but he deserved far worse.”

“I won’t disagree, but… how did hitting him in the face do that to your hand? And why didn’t you heal yourself?” Angus kneels on the ground beside her, inspecting the wounds on her knuckles. Lup doesn’t answer, so he responds to himself. “You punched more than just flesh didn’t you? And you wanted the feeling to last… But why?”

Now Lup looks at him, rage crackling like a thunderstorm in her eyes. “Because I’m so tired of not feeling  _ anything _ . I spent years feeling absolutely nothing, Angus. Years trapped in a confined space with no sense of  _ being _ . And I was there, when I learned what Sazed did to my brother, and Taako… Taako didn’t do anything. It made me sick, because I would have done-- I would have given anything to do something in that moment, I was so full of this si-- this sick  _ rage _ , I…” Lup takes in an unsteady gasp.

Angus stands automatically. “I’m going to go get a wet cloth, and maybe some bandages. I’ve never bandaged a wound, at least not very well, but I am willing to try.” 

He runs out of the room without another word, leaving no room for Lup to respond. His footsteps are heavy as he barrels downstairs and into the living room. Taako, startled from the sudden appearance of a small boy of out seemingly nowhere, almost spills all of his soup in his lap. He turns an evil glare to Angus.

“I love ya, kid, but if this hot hot liquid had gotten anywhere near my--”

“Do you have any bandages?” Angus cuts him off, only to immediately feel guilty and duck his head. “Sorry, sir, but I need something to cover Lup’s knuckles, and a wet rag as well.”

Taako blinks several times before looking to Barry. Barry looks back and a silent conversation passes before Taako sets down his soup on the coffee table and gets to his feet. “Gimme a sec, tiny wizard.”

Angus beams, nodding once and moving to the base of the stairs. Taako joins him moments later, dripping cloth in one hand and a roll of soft fabric in the other. They both make their way upstairs to Lup’s open door, and Angus feels his eyes well up at the sight. She’s sitting at her vanity with her head in her hands, shoulder shaking with silent, angry sobs. Angus immediately looks up to Taako, who looks… confused, and at first the greatest boy detective is stumped, until he remembers that even when it comes to his own sister sometimes Taako’s fight-or-flight response is always to run as far away as possible. Angus takes his arm and draws him further into the room, letting out a soft cough to get Lup’s attention. 

She immediately looks up and Taako rushes forward without another word, dropping to his knees beside his sister. He makes quick work of cleaning up the blood with the rag, handing it to a silent Angus as he shakes his head.

“You’re dumb.”

“Not as dumb as you,” Lup automatically responds, and Taako tugs on one of her fingers until she yelps.

“Lup, you can’t go punching every person who’s ever hurt me, or else you’ll lose a fucking hand. Sazed… Yeah, that was a fucked situation, but I don’t  _ care _ anymore. I-- I mean, yeah, I care, he did kill a lot of people and basically blame me, but… I let you fight your own battles, Lup, so why won;t you let me.”

“Because--” Lup cuts herself off with a loud groan, leaning back as far as she can go with Taako holding her hand. “Oh my god, can we just agree that me punching Sazed was badass?”

Angus watches worry and concern pass over Taako’s expression before he chuckles, wrapping the bandage around Lup’s hand. “I wish I could’ve been there to see it.”

Lup then launches into a very descriptive retelling of the entire event, making both Taako and Angus laugh genuinely with the humor she adds to every word. And that’s the thing about Lup: everything is serious, but she isn’t the type to let things get too somber. But even while laughing Angus can’t quite seem to forget her genuine rage from before. Being trapped in that umbrastaff left her an even more reckless version of herself, desperate to  _ be _ where before she couldn’t.

Eventually Lup falls silent and her hand is fully bandaged. Taako stands, wringing the wet and now bloody cloth between his hands. “Look… I love you, and… I don’t want you going and dying again, okay? It’ll be game over no takebacks then, and I am defo not down for that, so… Yeah, uh…”

Angus steps toward Lup, leaning down as if to whisper but speaking just loud enough for Taako to hear him. “He wanted me to tell you he said thank you for what you did.”

Taako points a threatening finger at Angus but Lup just smiles tiredly. “You’re welcome, bro.”

Taako leaves then, and Angus looks to Lup. “You’re going to have to really talk with him at some point, you know that right? You can only be so strong.”

Lup looks to him, mouth quirked into an uncomfortable smile. “I was hoping that confiding in a kid would fix everything, but… you’re right. I just dunno how to go about that.”

“I think it typically starts with actually sitting down to talk.” Angus adjusts his glasses as Lup snorts, nudging him away with her shoulder.

“You’re getting sassy, how cute! But you’ll never be as good at sarcasm as my bro, so don’t even try. Hey, d’you think tomorrow I can teach you some cool flame tricks? Maybe when you go off to school in a few months you can impress, like, everyone.”

Angus has never grinned so big in his life. “I’d love that!"


	4. angus and the laws of motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fic where Lup just. forgets how to function.  
> This is a sort of prequel to this actual set of stories!!

It’s been a few months since the day of Story and Song, and Angus has been spending a lot of time with the seven people who are now known to be the IPRE Crew. Their story has been told, so Angus knows everything there is to know about who they are, which is how he finds himself so entranced by the idea of Lup. 

She remains a lich for a long time, but the more time he spends around her the easier it is to tell when her spectral form makes certain features. It becomes almost easy to read her emotions, which is something Angus prides himself on being able to do. It’s not long before her body is ready and she returns to the physical world with a wicked grin and flashing eyes. She holds every inch the same ethereal beauty as Taako and now that she’s no longer in that red robe she always wears such a bizarre but somehow attractive array of fashion. 

Angus has yet to work up the nerve to talk to her, at this point, just watches her interact with her friends and strangers alike. Every time Kravitz comes over to Taako’s house she playfully threatens her co-workers life; whenever she’s with Barry she’ll just touch his face for no reason, a wistful sort of smile on her face; she’ll hang on her brother and tease him and punch his arm with a loud laugh every time he makes a lame joke; she’ll hug Lucretia and let Magnus give her piggyback rides and put Davenport and Merle on her shoulders. 

And Angus watches all of this with awe in his eyes, which is how he’s the only one to see the fault behind the grandeur.

They’re all at Lucretia’s new home, helping her unpack, and almost everyone else is somewhere deeper in the house. Lup has a box in her arms and she’s telling Angus about this cool magic trick she wants to teach him some time, and he’s bouncing on his heels behind her, practicing his mage hand to carry a box of clothes. 

“And you can make flowers grow around someone’s head! It’ll look adora--” Lup’s foot catches on the bottom step of the stairs and the box flies out of her arms as she slams into the stairs, her loud groan echoing up the stairwell as Angus quickly moves his mage hand to catch her box as well. He then sets the boxes down lightly and goes to her side as she rolls around and grabs her knee.

“Fuck,” she hisses, banging her head back against one of the steps. “Fuckin… stairs.”

“Are you okay, miss?” Angus asks, voice high with panic as he kneels beside her. Lup keeps her eyes shut tight, but Angus doesn’t miss what looks like a blush spreading across her face. When she finally does open her eyes it’s with a breathless sort of laugh.

“I forgot I couldn’t float.” There’s a long pause before both of them begin snickering, and then Lup is pushing herself up into a sitting position and stretching her leg out. “I should be, uh… I should be fine, little guy, but maybe we can keep this between us?”

Angus nods quickly, holding out a hand and helping pull her to her feet. She shakes her hair out of her face and nods once before moving to grab one of the boxes, hoisting it up in her arms and heading upstairs.

Angus says nothing about that little accident, keeping her secret for her with a pleasant smile. On the rare occasion that they were near each other when approaching stairs, Angus would run ahead of her and offer her a hand under the guise of politeness, beaming at the brief flash of gratitude and confusion in her eyes.

This was the beginning of his weird fascination with his adopted Aunt Lup. He wanted to understand her, from her clumsy accidents to her odd behaviours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is super short but it's 2 am. and it's nowhere near as funny as it could have been, just a cute lil moment!! sorry


	5. a (failed) attempt at homemade lasagna.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a (late) secret santa gift for @trustlup on tumblr!! I'm known for never being punctual, so I apologize for this awfully late addition to this silly series of stories :'')  
> (if it seems like I'm setting up a plot, I kind of am? Just, yknow, Angus working his way through helping all of the members of the IPRE, but for now this is just another short story!!)

Lup arrives with a grandiose plan early in the morning, practically the crack of dawn. She throws open the doors to Angus’ room with a burst of fireworks, so extravagantly loud that Angus tumbles from his bed in his haste to get up.

“Lup!” He yells, when he’s got his glasses on and can make out her familiar smirk in the faint light. The rest of his sentence is an embarrassingly unintelligent yell of sounds, but Lup just throws her hand toward the curtains, and they fly open to let in the faint yellow-gold light outside. This light reveals to her the mess of library books and discarded school uniforms and occasional scorch marks from misfired spells.

With an amused grin, Lup turns back to him. “For such an orderly kid, you sure are a garbage boy.”

“Wha--” Angus’ voice cracks with sleep, and he coughs around the sound. “What are you doing here?”

“I want to make lasagna.”

“Why?”

“Because?” Lup turns away from him and skips out of the room. “C’mon little dude, we’ve got a big day ahead of us!”

.

.

.

Magnus is already in the kitchen, grumbling vague sounds as he pours coffee into a massive chipped brown mug. Lup pats his shoulder as she buzzes past, and Angus doesn’t miss the choice hand gesture Magnus throws her way.

Angus climbs up onto the counter as Lup goes about getting the ingredients-- onion and garlic cloves, various cheeses, even the ingredients to make homemade noodles. After eating his way through two bowls of oatmeal and a banana-- and sipping some of Magnus’ coffee, behind the bigger man’s back-- Angus feels much more energetic at the prospect of helping Lup in the kitchen. Since baking a cake with her, they’ve only made a few things together: pancakes, cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches, and even baked potato soup when Lucretia got sick.

This, though, is way different. For one, Magnus is here, and the duo of him and Lup is one that Angus doesn’t get to see very often. Magnus is away more often than the others, but now that he’s here and spending his day with Lup, Angus can plainly see that the two of them have an untouchable chemistry. That’s probably something that happens when you spend a century with someone, but it also feels like more than that. Like, if given the chance, the two of them would gladly set everything on fire.

There’s a lot of waiting, in making lasagna, so Angus fills that time with reading up on abjuration magic, a topic he always finds himself drawn to. The idea of being able protect those he cares about… and, ‘abjurer’ is just a really cool thing to be called.

In between the gaps of his reading, Angus does catch a snippet of the conversation that passes between the two older people in the kitchen.

“You know, you should bring some of your pooches the next time you come over, Maggie.”

Magnus laughs, popping a chunk of tomato into his mouth. “I would’ve, but this trip was kinda unplanned. Lucretia thought I could come, talk some sense into Taako.”

“Talk sense into my brother?”

They both laugh, but then Magnus shrugs. “It’s been years, Lup, and he still won’t stand in the same room as her half the time. I tried talking to him yesterday, and it didn’t do much. Do you think maybe you could say something to him?”

“Ya think I haven’t tried?” Lup sighs, and Angus watches with a small frown as her eyes go distant and she stares unevenly at the countertop in front of her. “I can only imagine what it was like in his spot… to be so alone and not know why.”

“Lup… Yes, Lucretia was partially in the wrong, but you know why she did those things.”

“Yeah.” Lup sighs again, and then looks over to meet Angus’ furrowed brow with a smirk. “What’s up with you?”

Flustered at having been caught listening so intently, Angus bookmarks his page and pushes the book to the side. “I think… I think the best option would be to send them somewhere together, without anyone else. They’ll have to talk to each other eventually, and even if the words start out ugly, at least it’ll be a start.”

Magnus and Lup are silent for a second, and then Lup points her wooden spoon at Angus and grins. “Kid detective strikes again. I knew it would be a good idea to get you to help me today."

Magnus nods sagely, rubbing one hand across a sideburn. “That might work. Thanks, Angus.”

Angus grins, head ducking between his shoulders. “No problem, sir!!”

They get back to cooking, and soon enough-- actually, not soon at all, much of the day is gone-- they’ve got two massive lasagnas, plus a salad for a side and some homemade raspberry lemonade. Everyone’s invited over for dinner. Even Hurley and Sloane, who live the furthest away, show up at the front door with a few battlewagon bruises, each of them carrying a platter of slightly burnt cookies.

Lucretia helps set the table, a spot for Taako on the complete opposite end, and all three individuals who made the lasagna share a look of sadness and knowing. Now obviously wouldn’t be the best time to pit them against each other… but maybe soon.

Angus sits with Carey and Killian, the latter of which tells him all about a tattoo she got that moves to look like a cat prowling. Carey is staring at her wife like she put all of the stars in the sky, a look Angus has seen Barry give to Lup, or Kravitz to Taako.

The sort of look Lucretia gives to all of her family.

So maybe Angus can’t solve everything, maybe he’s too young to understand the infinite issues produced by the universes that exist, but he’ll be darned if he isn’t going to try!


End file.
